Early springtime.

[Jake Simpson]

The newly appointed prefect felt the chill of the early spring morning glow on his ghostly white face, reflecting the frost around him. His night black hair messed up further by the subtle breeze from the far away mountains. He had decided to take a morning stroll through the great lawn, kicking around frost as he walked, watching it fall around him. The burn of the cold had turned his cheeks a light pink, a preferred change of the Slytherin's complexion. The childish way in which Jake was acting brought him back to a place where he hadn't been, a time when he didn't live in a broken home and he could actually feel something besides anxiety and pure hatred. A small smile tickled its way onto his pale lips as he picked up a mass of frost and balled it up between his gloved hands, there was nobody else around to see him act reasonably normal, and so Jake's self-conscious habits had dissolved themselves into the chilly spring morning.

In leaving the spirit of winter behind, Jake threw his frost ball as far as he could, surprised with himself at how far he had actually managed to throw it, and the fact there was enough frost to form a ball in the first place. His lack of physique would have made for a terrible competitor in a snow ball fight, but now he thought otherwise. The uninhabited great lawn made a flawless playing field to throw frost balls and get away with it before the suns warmth ruined everything. If somebody saw him acting as juvenile as he was right now, they would most probably think the perfect was a first year. Jake's face was hidden behind a disorder of jet black hair and a black beanie; he was almost unrecognisable under the masquerade of his winter attire. Jake hadn't had this much fun in a while, no matter how greatly immature he looked, that and the contribution of the vacant great lawn paved the way for the Slytherin to get rid of his anxiety around crowds and become more confident in the lonely atmosphere of the early spring weather. ​

 

[Sara Moon]

Sara had woken up early, and quickly gotten dressed. She wasn't hungry, but she still felt sleep in her eyes. The brisk wind through the cracks in the castle's windows drew her to the outdoors. She quicly wrapped her Ravenclaw scarf around her neck and began the descent to the first floor.
It was an odd feeling being the only person awake in the castle. The halls, which were usually bustling with life, and the chatter of students on their way to class, were completely empty. It was almost eerie. She quickened her pace, and hugged herself, trying to push unhappy thoughts from her mind. The holidays hadn't been good. Kate had come home-and was-thankfully, perfectly alright, but just a few days after that..Disaster had struck. Michael. Michael Glass was dead. He had given her Shade, her owl. She briefly contemplated going up to visit him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She'd drawn herself back a bit. She was dreading the first Glee Club meeting. Michael had been like family. She unconciously rubbed under her eyes, the wetness of tears she hadn't realised she'd shed surprising her. She quickly composed herself, as she reached the Entrance Hall, and stepped out into the cold.

She could see a vague shape moving down on the Great Lawn. Curious, she began to walk in it's direction. After further inspection, it became clear that the shape was in fact a boy, a boy with coal black hair, who was throwing snowballs. She edged behind a tree, to try and see his face. Jake. Her heart stopped, and her face flushed. He'd changed over the holidays, but hopefully his feelings for her hadn't changed. She leaned against the tree, trying to decided what to do, then glancing over at him again, she crouched to make a frost ball. She gathered the white fluff together, to form a loose ball, and took aim. Wham! Right in the back. She stood looking at him, hoping that he would notice her. she'd seen him at the prefect meeting, but not since then, and right now-the only person she really wanted to see was Jake.

 

[Jake Simpson]

Jake had put himself in a pleasant situation, the great lawn, although deserted seemed more peaceful without the usual groups of students covering it. It seemed as though Jake was in a world of his own, a world where stress from home and anxieties from school could wash away into nothing. The winter break was finally over, and Jake's holidays which had been more stressful than ever with his sick grandfather had finished, however the stress from home hadn't left with memories of the school break. After his grandmother's death at the beginning of his second year, his mother had put all the blame on him for making her sick, when that fact was obviously untrue. The blame from his grandmother's death lightening up completely as his grandfather remarried, and Jake started living with his grandfather permanently as opposed to a few weeks every year. The relocation back to London meant Jake could feel normal again, as close to normal as he could get. Without hearing from his mother since being dropped off at his now home, Jake felt as if a burden had been lifted off his shoulders, until the winter break that is.

The prefect worried, he worried about whether his grandfather, the closest thing he knew to family was going to recover completely from his sickness; he worried about being forced back into living with his mother who he had not heard from in three years, among his usual worries. These reflective thoughts were quickly disrupted by the sudden collision of a frost ball to his back. Jake hunched his shoulders, shivering at the lingering chill left by the frost ball. Anticipating turning around, in case the person who had thrown it had done it out of spite, the Slytherin prefect slowly glanced around his shoulder, his eyes quickly falling on a familiar silhouette. Quirking an eyebrow up, Jake turned around fully, approaching Sara, and ignoring the butterflies which suddenly appeared in his gut. "What the heck was that for?" He playfully asked the Ravenclaw, brushing some of the leftover frost of his black jacket, glad to finally see her after so long. They really finally needed to meet up during the winter break, being apart for that amount of time was just too irritating to endure further. ​

 

[Sara Moon]

Sara's holiday's obviously hadn't been the best. Things with Kate were going well, but there were bridges that wouldn't be rebuilt. At least they could be friendly to each other. Kate's illness had been dealt with, and she was doing better. She hoped Stefan would take her offer of living with them, the boy was completely enthralled with Kate, and if Stefan knew about...well....the other Stefan...he might reconsider. Still, he had to come to terms with the fact that Kate was completely in love with Stefan Archer and vice versa. In every sense of the word-they were perfect for each other. She kicked the snow as she watched Jake, she'd missed him, and had wanted to meet up with him, but things were so hectic at home this year, and she'd spent a lot of time on her own, or with Shade, thinking about Michael. Stefan was angry, very angry, and Sara knew how he felt, but she'd resigned herself to the fact that Michael was dead, it was just so hard to think of someone so young, so close to their family..as gone.

She grinned as Jake turned to face her, all morbid thoughts flying out of her head. He had that effect on her, his smile, his presence-he made her happy. Her smile broadened as he raised an eyebrow, he had changed, but his beautiful green eyes were still the same. At his question, she ran toward him, and stood on tip-toe to hug him, her arms wrapped around his neck. "Because I missed you!" she murmered, only loud enough for him to hear. Reluctantly, she pulled away from him, and took a good look at him-he'd grown up over the holidays, she brushed a stray piece of fluff off his shoulder, witout thought, and her cheeks blushed when she realised. "Sorry about that..the snowball I mean." she admitted, facing the ground, and then glancing back up to his face. "You've changed." she commented her head tilted to one side, her brown eyes focussed on his face. He was taller again. "I'm telling you Jake-either I have to start, or everyone else has to stop growing." she joked, most of the boys in her year towered over her at this stage.

 

[Jake Simpson]

Even though the stress at home stayed in the back of his mind, Jake found a small haven in talking with Sara. They had spent the holidays apart, even though they were so close, and the excuse not to see each other during the holidays once more was becoming old quickly. Jake flinched slightly as Sara ran up to him, his flinching only an instinctive reaction, dissolving away as Sara threw her arms around his neck before he wrapped his arms around her waist. Jake felt his lips curve into a smile as the Ravenclaw said she had missed him, before he reluctantly pulled away from the embrace after waiting a few seconds. The prefect chuckled once realising Sara had to stand on her toes in order to be able to reach her arms around his neck. The Ravenclaw could always put a smile on his face, even with the smallest things, and that was one of the many amazing things about Sara Jake could add to his already long list. However it was when he noticed she had to stand on her toes that the realisation of how much he had grown in the holidays started to set in. He had grown taller, and through exercising as part of an escape from the stress at home, had managed to avoid looking scrawny for another year, a surprise to the prefect, yet something he hoped wasn't noticeable.

Jake was still anxious about standing out in the crowd, so his change in appearance was not something he took lightly, although Sara distracted him enough from freaking out about it just yet, spite the fact she was taking a good look at him, hopefully not because of his change in appearance, and just the fact it had been so long since they last talked properly, the perfect meeting hardly counted as a conversation. The Slytherin turned a light shade of pink, biting his bottom lip as Sara brushed his shoulder. "It's fine, I'm not dead or anything." Jake said, chuckling at his boring humour, if anything he said could be considered humour at all. It was cute the away Sara looked at the ground, it reminded Jake of when the only think he knew how to do was stare at his shoes, before he managed to find a hint of confidence pushed back by anxiety. The butterflies fluttering in Jake's gut got worse as he got a glimpse of Sara's beautiful honey brown eyes. "You could always wear heels, all the time. Then you'll look pretty, and you won't be a dwarf." He said jokingly, before moving closer to Sara, pulling her in for another embrace. After realising how sudden he had hugged her, Jake stepped back, removing all physical contact with the pretty Ravenclaw before kicking at the frost. "Sorry, I just wanted another hug." He said, blushing even more.
​

 

[Sara Moon]

Sara had been feeling lost, and in a way she'd dreaded coming back to school, trying to act normal. Seeing Jake..made things easier..somehow. She couldn't help noticeing his flinch, and pulled back slightly, still not letting go of his neck. She fought the urge to kiss him on the cheek. She just found him so intriguing, and it was adorable how shy he could be sometimes. "Are you laughing at me Jake Simpson?" she demanded as they seperated, and she began to laugh. She placed her hands on her hips and studied him with a mock-glare. Sara had a fiery temper, but she couldn't seem to get mad with Jake, over things that coming from someone else could quite possibly put her into a rage. "Short people have feelings too." she added, her cover blowing, and a smile creeping across her face. "How were your holidays?" she asked, beginning to walk, her feet scattering the snow as she twirled, she had no inhibitions, and she felt comfortable round Jake. She picked up a loose handful of snow and blew it into the air, the frost flowing in the wind, though some of it fell back to land in Sara's face.

Sara laughed as a pink blush spread across Jake's face. "I know, and it's a good thing too-I'm too young to go to jail." she replied, skipping back over toward him, and looking up into his face, her snow hat pulled snugly around her ears gave her a youthfulness, that if she were aware of it-would not make her happy. Still, she'd chosen the hat because she didn't like showing her ears, with her hair back and her ears showing, she looked like an elf. She laughed at Jake's comment, and facing him as he hugged her she replied. "Are you implying that I need heels to look pretty?" she raised an eyebow at him, but realising that she was being unfair she added "I'm just joking by the way." As he pulled away from her, a slight frown creased her features, she liked being close to him. Still, she continued on that train of thought; "Anyway, I usually do wear heels, even my snow boots have slight heels." she raised her foot to show him, though the heels were very slight, and barely noticeable. She laughed as he kicked the frost, watching the blush spread across his cheeks, and hugged him around the waist, her head nestled in his chest. "I don't think you have any idea how great you are,Jake." she smiled, embracing his warmth.

 

[Jake Simpson]

A wide smile couldn't help but force it's way onto Jake's pale lips as Sara glared at him, unable to take it seriously, Jake chuckled slightly, no matter what Sara was doing it was impossible for her not to be cute. That was one of the many things he liked about her, and one of the most prominent. Sara was a good distraction and a distraction the fifteen year old needed after the time spent during his school holidays. Though he would not mention a word of his woes to Sara, not in the near future at least, some things were better left unsaid and the story of his home life was one. Which is why Sara's question posed as ironic to the prefect, so he avoided talking about his holidays. "Pretty boring, really. Nothing much happened." Jake said. A lie paired with a casual shrug, a blatant lie which the Slytherin hoped Sara wouldn't be able to notice. He waited a few seconds, not moving from his spot. "How were your holidays?" he asked, expression returning to normal as Sara blew a handful of frost into the wind, chuckling once more when some of it flew back in her face, a great photo opportunity he definitely missed.

"No I'm implying that you need heels so people don't make fun of you for being short, you're pretty anyway." Jake replied, smiling warmly at the other prefect. Of course she was joking but Jake felt he needed to compliment her, and tell her she was pretty because it was the truth, and he thought he needed to make up for his lie moments earlier. When Sara lifted up her shoes to reveal small heels, barely noticeable, Jake laughed, taking a step back before finishing his laughter. Then realising he had to explain that he wasn't laughing to poke fun at Sara, he spoke again. "That's awesome, you're just so cute and short you have to have heels most of the time." Jake explained, sighing and taking a step forward to be closer to the Ravenclaw. Sara hugged him around the waist, and he reacted on instinct, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "You're more great than me." Jake said back to his crush, before moving away from her, and focusing his attention out into the distance.

After registering his thoughts for a moment, Jake decided to just go for it, and ask Sara what had been on his mind the entire holidays, and had only just returned after Sara said he was great. "Hey Sara." Jake said to grab the witches' attention, making complete eye contact with her. "Do you kind of, want to, maybe be my girlfriend?" He questioned, standing in wait for Sara’s answer, half in disbelief of what he had just asked. ​

 

[Sara Moon]

Sara loved the feel of the crunchy frost beneath her feet, and the slight wind which blew her hair into her face. She flicked it away with her indez finger and stood looking up at Jake. He was one of her best friends, and she was so glad Kate had invited him to their birthday party, otherwise she'd never have met him. A small smile lit up her face as he laughed, her eyes glitterng in the morning light. As she messed with the frost, her gaze was drawn downward, but as he answered her question she raised her head, readjusting her hat as she did so-he was lying, she knew it, but she was used to lies, Stefan rarely told the truth about his home life, though she knew things had gotten slightly better, if not much. "Sure." she replied wryly, walking over to him, and looking up into his eyes. They reminded her of the forest, with shafts of sunlight falling through the trees. It was too easy to get lost in them, and she paused a few seconds before answering his question; "They were...alright-Kate's operation went well, but...Michael Glass died." she replied, she didn't know if Jake knew Stefan-Michael's son, but he might possibly know Michael. "He was a professor here last year.." she added-strangely the sorrow that had shadowed her since her return to Hogwarts seemed diminished around Jake, as though a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

"I think that's a compliment." she laughed, as he spoke about the heels. "Anyway, I don't really mind people teasing me-most of the time I kind of like being small." she continued, it was the truth, though it did irk her that she was smaller than most other people, she didn't mind too much, at times like now-with Jake, she did like being short. She didn't know why, but his teasing didn't bother her. His comment made her smile, a mischievous grin. He thought she was cute. she could've jumped, or danced or sung, but she didn't she just stood there smiling, and loving the feel of his warmth beside her. She frowned slightly as he answered her compliment. "I don't think so." she replied, looking up into his face, which held so many mysteries, and smiling at him.

She stepped back as he looked away from her, his eyes cloudy and his expression vacant. She couldn't help wondering what he was thinking about-she couldn never help it, but something in his demeanor told her not to ask. He used her name, which was odd, and she turned to face him "Yes?" she asked, stepping slightly closer to him. What did he want, what was it that was making him nervous? he was acting so serious, holding her gaze with the emerald gems that were his eyes. His question didn't register at first, but when she came back to Earth, Sara realised what he'd said. He liked her! He really liked her, enough to ask her out! Her mind was in turmoil, and she opened her mouth without speaking, then finally regaining the use of her limbs, sfter what had seemed a century, though in reality only a few seconds, she answered; "Yes! Of course-yes!" Her eyes were alight with happiness, as they hadn't been in weeks, and she reached up to hug Jake, her arms around his neck.

 

[Jake Simpson]

Jake didn't properly consider Sara's reaction to his question, yes he considered that the pretty Ravenclaw would say no, leaving the two prefects in an awkward silence while Jake figured out something else to say to recover the conversation. But instead of saying no, Sara had said yes, and was now officially his girlfriend. The happiness that washed over the fifteen year old was intense, so intense his smile turned completely genuine. Sara's initial reaction of standing still, her mouth hanging open with no sense of the world had left Jake clouded with worry, however luckily she was only shocked, or at least appeared to be shocked before exclaiming a yes to his question and throwing her arms around his neck. Like earlier, the Slytherin wrapped his arms around Sara's waist, losing himself in the quick embrace before moving slightly away from his girlfriend, his arms still around her. Sara was so gorgeous, and he still couldn't understand why he had a girlfriend who was smart, talented, and as amazing as Sara was. The fifth year still thought he wasn't worth Sara's time or effort, but there was something she obviously noticed in him which made her say yes to his question, if it wasn't all just a joke to her.

The prefect moved a lock of hair out of Sara's face while a content sigh escaped his lips. This moment was surprisingly peaceful, and would have left the Slytherin anxious if it weren't for the confidence he had gained since starting Hogwarts. Jake remembered himself as a first year, scared of talking to people while drawing cartoons in his notebook all day. He wondered what had happened to his notebook; since he stopped using it, the notebook seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth, but in truth it was probably in his bedroom somewhere, possibly collecting dust in the back of his wardrobe, Jake not having the heart to throw it away when he moved back to London. But even though Jake had no confidence then, he found some in Sara as well as his friends, who made him so happy he hardly had nerves any more, unless he was asking somebody a serious question or in some kind of serious situation, however.

What happened then, Jake didn't predict, but the prefect had gotten so lost in Sara's beautiful eyes that all of a sudden he kissed her, somewhat out of nowhere. Once the Slytherin realised what he had done he stepped back from Sara, breaking the embrace with eyes wide, and a hand covering his mouth. He stood this way for a minute or so, shocked before shaking his head back into reality. "Oh gosh Sara, I'm so sorry I just, oh god." He said, holding a hand up to his forehead, embarrassed. He had just gotten his first girlfriend, and shared his first kiss, all without thinking and the fifth year had no idea how to react to it, so he resorted to his natural reaction to everything, freaking out. ​

 

[Sara Moon]

Sara had never considered that Jake would ever ask her out, that he'd ever like her in that way. Her face lit up as she saw Jake smile, the brief fear that he'd been kidding, flying out of her mind. She knew she must've looked like an idiot at first, but she thought she'd redeemed herself. As she embraced Jake, inhaling the fresh, clean scent of him, loving the feel if his arms around her waist, her mind wandered. She knew that Jake was now her boyfriend, but it was hard to grasp. She'd imagined it of course, hoped for it, but she'd never thought it would actually happen, she'd never thought he liked her enough to ask. Yes, he'd asked her to the Yule Ball, but that Jake Simpson, who was sweet, and kind and caring could like her that much seemed impossible to her.

As they pulled apart slightly, she leaned forward, her temple touching his, Sara stared into the green depths of his eyes, enjoying their closeness. Her fingers were locked behind his neck, and she smiled as he moved her hair. She was comfortable in the calmness of the moment, her breathing was steady and she was busy studying Jake. His skin was pale porcelain, and he had a strong jawline, she tried to avoid his eyes, they were too easy to get lost in but she kept finding herself drawn back to them. To distract herself she ran a hand through his hair, playing with the strands that were longer at the back. He really didn't realise how attractive he was.

Suddenly, she felt Jake's lips on her own, which were cold from the early morning air. It only lasted a few seconds, and Jake immediately stepped away, Sara raised her fingers to her lips. Her first kiss. Her eyes widened as Jake apologised-he thought she was annoyed? "Don't be." she replied, steeping toward him, and wrapping her arms around his neck once more. "I'm certainly not." she added, leaning forward to kiss him, amazed by her own actions, but she loved the feel of his lips, of his closeness. She pulled away after a few moments, a blush spreading on her cheeks.

 

[Jake Simpson]

Jake was more than embarrassed, he had acted on impulse, and kissed Sara moment after he had asked her to be his girlfriend. There was no denying, that the prefect liked the closeness, and the feel of Sara's soft lips gracing his own, even if it only were for a few moments. But the last thing he wanted was to make his girlfriend feel uncomfortable, especially so soon after becoming his girlfriend, this being the reason he had apologized, and was now slightly freaking out. Jake wasn't in a complete state of panic, as every situation can be recovered with the right body language, and the right words to fill awkward silences, or pauses between yelling. The problem that lay with that knowledge is Jake did not know how to recover a situation, and there was no form of yelling, neither an awkward silence to dwell upon. Leaving Jake even more confused and unsure of what to do. When the Slytherin was younger, he needed assurance from everybody for him to believe he was supposed to react to things, something the prefect had thankfully grown out of, however in that moment, Jake was a mix of clueless, confused and frightened.

But Sara came to Jake's rescue, speaking before he had the courage to conjure anything more. She sounded calm, collected, feelings Jake envied. As the Ravenclaw stepped closer to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck once more, he started to feel a little confused. So Sara wasn't fazed at all by the kiss? Jake's question was answered without words, but in the form of a second kiss, this time from Sara. Jake didn't know how to kiss, but he went with instincts, kissing back, and sighing as Sara pulled away, relieved she wasn't angry at him. Jake thought Sara was amazing, and he didn't know how to put it in a more complicated form to make himself sound intelligent, and impress her. So Jake just said what he was thinking, as he had no mind to think of anything more than Sara right now. "You know you're amazing, right?" He spoke, lips curving into a small smile as he kept his gaze on his beautiful girlfriend. She really was beautiful, even though she was short, but Jake didn't mind that one bit. ​

 

[Sara Moon]

Sara almost laughed as she saw the panic in his eyes. He was adorable, and wonderful and she couldn't imagine anyone more perfect. She didn't feel awkward, or out of place with him, she felt sort of natural, comfortable. She acted on instinct, and as she pulled away from Jake, she didn't take her arms from around his neck. He had kissed her back. She smied at the thought, and her smile small widened slightly as she heart Jae sigh. She buried her head in his shoulder, and pulled him closer, completely content. She often found she was rushing around, and trying too hard to maintain her facade. The hyperness that everyone seemed to think was always like that, that she could never be in a bad mood. Everyone expected something. Jake expected nothing, and she loved that. She smiled against his coat , as he complimented her. She didn't answer him-she didn't know how to. She'd never known anyone who was as kind and caring as Jake-yes she'd had close friends-and still had, though she'd been avoiding most of them, but Jake had no reason to care about her, no reason to compliment her, but he did, and she felt a arm glow in her chest, he praise meant a lot.

After a few moments, she finally pulled back from him, a small sigh escaping her lips. She moved her hands to his chest instead, she had to go on tiptoe to put her arms around his neck. "Thank you." she smiled, looing down at her feet, for the fear that she would blush again. It felt the most natural thing to say, and she owed a lot to him, she hadn't been able to tact normal recently, dwelling on Michael's last fe moments, replaying them in her head, but Jake had stopped that, had woken her up again, and she was very grateful. "So-what now?" she asked, with a mischievous grin. Her feet were freezing, the frost had melted through them slightly, and she shifted from foot to foot, trying to be discreet.